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III 



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ANT 



HISTORICAL SKETCH, 



DELIVERED AT THE CLOSING SERVICES, 



ST. STEPHEN'S CHURCH, 



NEW YORK, 



(S)n tl)e 5ivst Gunbai) in BnUj, ISliU, 



REV. JOSEPH H. PRICE, D. D., 



RECTOR OF THE f fl U R C H 






N E W V (> K K : 

VINTEN, STICAM PIMNTKR, lOO NASSA\) KTK'F.ET, 

1800. 



oK.c 



TO THE 

WARDENS, YESTRY AND CONGREGATION 









WHO HAVE STEADFASTLY BELIEVED IN HIS INTEGRITY, AND 
CHARITABLY EXCUSED HIS IMPERFECTIONS, 

THIS II I S T O R I C A T. SKETCH 

IS MOST AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED 
BY 

YOUE RECTOR. 



"For all our days are passed away in Thy wrath." — 90th Psalm, part of the 
9th verse. 



Wheeevke there is sin, there is siifleriiig ; wherever there 
is suffering-, there is the anger of the superior Being, who 
causes or permits the suffering. " For all our days are passed 
away in Thy wrath." We constantly feel some effect or other 
of thine anger, whereby our lives decline exceeding fast ; few 
and e^'il are the days of our pilgrimage. Our lives pass away 
in the vanity of sin, and in the miseries of this evil world, 
and at last we sink in death oppressed, with a sense of thy 
wrath. 

All this is true of human life and the various circumstances 
that make up human life, apart from that remedial and blessed 
dispensation of divine mercy that can transmute every evil 
and make it administer good. 

Our lives, whether we pursue knowledge or pleasure, or 
fame or riches, for themselves alone, are vanity, nay, vanity of 
vanities. The changes and chances of this mortal life, to 
which we are constantly subjected, come from the prolific 
mother Sin, and unless brought to the Christian touchstone, 
and pronounced genuine, will entail upon us more or less of 
miseiy. 

One of tliese changes l)rings together to-day this large con- 
gregation of sympathizers. 

We take leave; t(t-(hiy of this vcneral)le Irieud— this old edi- 
tice — consecrated to (irod more than sixty years ago. It has 



been faithfully fulfilling the great purpose of its mission dur- 
ii\g the whole of that period. Can we part with this old friend 
without a pang? Our American classic, in a passage of his 
"Sketch Book" distinguished for the correctness of its senti- 
ment as well as the beauty of its language, says : " O the 
grave, the grave ! it buries every erroi-, covers every defect, 
extinguishes every resentment ! From its bosom spring none 
but fond regrets and tender recollections. Who can look 
down upon the grave, even of an enemy, and not feel a com- 
punctious throb that he sliould ever have warred with the poor 
handlul of eartli that lies mouldering liefore him T 

With some abatement, we might adopt this sentiment when 
we part w\t]\ this venerable friend, not dead nor dying, yet 
with whoui, in the same relation in which we now stand, we 
never expect to meet again. But our old friend cannot recip- 
rocate our endearments, being inert matter, incapable of emo- 
tion ; so we must resort to personification to give our language 
any meaning. 

But this man of wood and stone has one advantage over 
some intelligent l)eings. If he is without some of their virtues, 
he has none of their vices. He never forged a slander, his 
neiglibor's fame to ;*vound, nor propagated one forged by 
others, nor cried out lustily for the freedom to slander tlu'ough 
the press, nor sate in severe judgment on well-intended ettbrts 
in ministerial duty, nor contriluited to degrade that duty to 
the low level of a caterer for public amusement. No ! he lias 
looked down with the same calm l)enignity on friend and fi»e ; 
ou victorious and defeated parties ; on contested elections and 
the burial of the contestants ; on the true-hearted and sincere, 
and the hollow-liearted and hypocritical ; on those who served 
themselves and those who served the Lord Christ. 

But come, my old friend, suppose you give us a ra[)id recital 
of what you have witnessed ; — not all, — for that would be 
somewhat tedious ; but a condensed account of the more inter- 
esting matters. What ? you are silent ! Oh, I forgot that 
you were educated when modesty was a virtue — and that is a 
long while ago. Modesty now finds itself safe only in the 
Insane Asylum. Well, as I belong to a recent age, let me 
discliarge the duty for you. 



Beloved brethren, who have belonged, or do now belong, to 
this congregation — The first effective meeting for the erection 
of this church was held on the 12th day of March, 1805. A 
committee was appointed to take all legal measures to become, 
under the law, a rehgious society. The conmiittee were the 
Rev. Mr. Stroebeck, Cornelius Schuyler and Isaac Emmons. 

At a meeting held April 1st, 1805, it was resolved, that 
three lots of ground, on the south-east corner of First and Bul- 
lock streets, be purchased of Mr. Ray, for the purpose of the 
erection of a church, and that Cornelius Schuyler, Thomas 
Gibbons and Jordan Mott be a committee to carry out this 
resolution. 

At the first election held in a public and legal way, on April 
19th, 1805, being Easter Monday, Cornelius Schuyler and 
Thomas Gibbons were elected wardens, and Jacob C. Mott, 
Jordan Mott, Abraham Fowler, Isaac Emmons, Benjamin 
Clark, Benjamin Beekman, George Beck and George Fash 
were elected vestrymen. 

On the 22d of April, 1805, the Rev. Mr. Stroebeck was 
invited to the Rectorship, and being present at the meeting, 
accepted. Though not a matter of record, it is a matter of 
trustworthy tradition, that this church originated in what 
proves the. truth : " That we have this treasure in earthen 
vessels.'" Mr. Stroebeck was the minister of a Lutheran church 
in Mott street. He and the mass of his congregation con- 
formed to the Church. Soon after this event a disaffection 
sprung up toward him in the congregation. It was too serious 
to be resisted, and his friends retired from Zion Clmrch, and 
together with others proposed the erection of this ciiurch as an 
act of frieudship to him. 

December 6th, 1805, the corporation of Trinity Church 
granted to this church three thousand dollars. 

On the 26th of December, 1805, being St. Stephen's Day, 
this church was consecrated to the service of Almighty God 
by the Right Rev. Benjamin Moore, Bishop of the Diocese of 
New York. The Rev. Mr. Harris, Rector of St. Mark's 
Clmrch in the Bowery, read divhie service, and the Rev. Cave 



6 

Jones, an assistant minister of Trinity Clnircli, preached from 
Acts vii., 55. Tlie original estimates for tliis bnilding were 
fonr thonsand six hnndred and fifty dollars, exclusive of the 
land. But at various times more money was expended even 
by our prudent fathers. 

In the month of April, 1808, the vestry of Trinity Church 
presented to the corporation of St. Stephen's, in bonds and 
cash, seven thousand two hundred and fifty-four dollars and 
fifty-eight cents, to meet some special pressing demand on this 
body. In the same year Trinity Church gave to this church 
three lots of land, one situated on Greenwich, and two on 
Warren street. These lots yielded, in 1809, four Inindred dol- 
lars per annum. They are still in the possession of this church, 
and constitute the only certain income to meet its current 
expenses. The leases expired a few years since, and on their 
release, under tlie judicious counsel of a member of the ves- 
try, they have been made to yield much more. 

And here let me acknowledge, once for all, the debt of gra- 
titude this church owes to the venerable corporation of Trinity 
Church. Though the amount has been, as usual, greatly over 
estimated by the Church public, so that it has been considered 
abundantly adequate to support the Rector and defray all cur- 
rent expenses, and supposed quite equal to those princely 
endowments bestowed by Trinity Church on St. Mark's, 
St. George's and Grace Church ; and the present Rector has 
sufi'ered much from these false estimates; and though that 
amount, under the present Rectorship, has not been increased, 
but diminished, yet the gift was generous, and the Rector, 
therefore, as the head of the corporation of St, Stephen's 
Church, makes this acknowledgment. (1.) 

April 25th, 1809, the Rev. Mr. Stroebeck, in an unexpected 
and informal manner, resigned the Rectorship, having occu- 
pied it about four years. 

I have nothing to say concerning the efiiciency or ineffi- 
ciency of Mr. Stroebeck's ministry in this churcli. If ineffi- 
cient, then it must l)e acknowledged that the compensation 
for his services, small and uncertain in its payment, was a fair 
ofi'set to his deficiency. I think our better way is to let the 



poor man rest, and believe that the most ungrateful task any 
man can undertake is, to sow the seed from which others are 
to reap the fruit. There are more martyrs in the church mili- 
tant than are honored in tJie Church's calendar. 

Five days after this resignation, the Rev. Dr. Richard Chan- 
ning Moore, then othciating in Richmond, Staten Island, was 
elected to the Rectorsliip, and on the 2d of June, 1809, he 
forniall}' accepted ; the Rectorsliip having been vacant only 
twenty-four days. 

In August, 1809, Mr. John Pollion gave the tablet now 
over the front door of the cluirch. Dr. Moore was instituted 
October 6tli, 1809. The Rev. Cave Jones preached the ser- 
mon. In 1810, Mrs. Mary Delancey gave the service of com- 
munion plate still in use. It was a most valuable and pious 
gift. Would there were more such honorable women in the 
Church ! 

On the 10th of May, 1810, a petition, with the name of Mr. 
George Warner at the head of the list of subscribers, was pre- 
sented for leave to erect a chapel of ease, so that many for 
whom there was no room in St. Stephen's might enjoy a por- 
tion of Dr. Moore's very acceptable services. The vestry 
received the proposition coldly, fearing that eventually it 
would involve St. Stephen's in debt, and so it was dropped. 

The Rev. Dr. Moore, while Rector of this church, was 
elected Bisho}) of the Diocese of Virginia, and consecrated to 
that high ollice on the 18th of May, 1814. lie resigned the 
Rectorship, May 26th, 181-1 ; so that he remained Rector a few 
days after he was Bishop. St. Stephen's enjoys the distinction 
of having been, for a few days at least, a cathedral. He was 
Rector about live years. 

Bishop Moore's ministry in this church was eminently suc- 
cessful. He was a perfect gentleman of the old school. He 
Avas genial to a degree tliat in this age would bring one under 
suspicion. His preaching was simple, direct, earnest and 
evano-elical. It was not remarkable for theological learnino: 
or l)readtli or depth of thought, but was addressed by a loving 
heart to the consciences of his hearers, and found a ready 
reception everywhere. He spoiled this congregation for any 



severe presentutiou of divine truth. He scarcely knew of any 
way of serving God but from love. 

On the 3d day of June, 1814, the Kev. Dr. Feltus, then 
Rector of St. Ann's Church, Brooklyn, was elected Rector, on 
a salary of fifteen hundred dollars, and declined. The call 
vras repeated on the 8th of June, 1814, on a salary of seven- 
teen hundred and fifty dollars, and accepted. On October 
23d, 1823, the land on which the church stands was purchased : 
till then it had been leased. 

During the Rectorship of Dr. Feltus, it was proposed to 
Ijuild a ]iew church in the Bowery, but the purpose was never 
effected. The gift of Zion Church was asked from Trinity 
Church, provided it could be without incumbrance. In 18i^3, 
a lot adjoining the church was purchased of Philip Hone, Esq. 
In 1825, an organ, costing nine hundred and fifty dollars, was 
first introduced into the church. 

The playfulness of Dr. Feltus' temper is aptly illustrated by 
a singular event of his administration. A contested election 
on some point supposed to involve materially the interests of 
the Rector was expected at Easter. The feeling in the parish 
was at boiling temperature. The ladies, as usual, did not fail 
to sympathize. Accordingly, the mass of females, with more 
zeal than order, presented themselves at the polls and offered 
their ballots. Dr. Feltus, as presiding officer, was embarriis- 
sed ; on a moment's thought, however, he saved his gallantry 
by accepting the ballots, and his submission to law by quietly 
putting the ballots under the table. I wonder if our legisla- 
tors will be able as easily to dispose of the question of woman's 
rights. 

Dr. Feltus, after an illness of four weeks, died on the 10th 
of August, 1828, having been Rector fourteen years. His 
death produced a great sensation throughout the city, both 
within and without the church. On account c»f the intense 
heat of the weather, he was buried on the day after his death, 
Monday, August lltli, 1828. At the funeral services the pall- 
bearers were Drs. Harris, Lyell, Barry, Onderdonk, Wain- 
right, Berrian, Milnor and the Rev. Mr. Creighton. The 
officiating clergy were Drs. Wainright, Lyell and Milnor, and 



9 

an appropriate and impressive address was delivered l)y Dr. 
( )nderdonlv. 

The church was crow^ded to its utmost capacity, and the 
streets throug'h which the procession passed were tilled with 
sympathizing nniltitudes. Appro}»riate resolutions were pass- 
ed by the vestry of this church, and the various bodies in the 
church, and among the sects, to which his pleasant face was 
familial". 

Dr. Feltus was held in deservedly high estimation by all 
who knew him. lie had all the better qualities of an Irish 
gentleman. He had the national vivacity, wit, quickness of 
apprehension, readiness in retort, enjoyment of a good joke ; 
and, at the same time, a most devoted attachment to his cleri- 
cal duties, and a most popular method of discharging them. 

He was fond of his books, but no less fond of social life, so 
that he was equally interesting in the pulpit and out of it. I 
am more and more persuaded every day that he was not taken 
from this parish before he had made a mark upon it, never to 
be etfaced. If it were lawful to envy, such a life and such a 
death might well be the subject of envy. Mrs. Feltus, too, 
most satisfactorily tilled her station as a minister's wife. On 
the wdiole, he was a man distinguished for the blessings he had 
instrumentally conferred on others, and for the blessings divine 
Providence had conferred on him. 

On ISTovember 6tli, 1828, the Rev. Levi S. Ives, then Rector 
of St. Luke's Church in this city, was elected Rector, and on 
the 14th of the same month he declined the invitation. This 
is the gentleman who was subsequently Bishop of North Caro- 
lina, and who laid down his mitre and episcopal prerogatives 
at the feet of tlie Bishop of Rome, commonly known to the 
world as the Pope. Pity for his weakness restrains me from 
any comment on a course of conduct so strangely ludicrous. 

December 10th, 1828, the Rev. John Ilenry Hopkins, Rec- 
tor of Trinity Church, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was elected 
Rector, and on December 29th, 1828, he declined. He was 
subsequently assistant minister of Trinity Cliurch, Boston, and 
since 1832, Bishop of Vermont, and now, since the death of 
Bishop Brownell, is the honored senior Bishop of the Protest- 
ant Episcopal Church in the United States. 



10 

On the 8th ofJanuary, 1829, the Rev. Henry Anthon, then 
Rector of Tnnity Clun-ch, Utica, New York, was elected Rec- 
tor. On January 10, 1829, Dr. Anthon accepted. The Rec- 
torship had been vacant five months and nine days. On May 
17th, 1829, Dr. Anthon was instituted by Bisliop IIoT)art, and 
in about a year and a half from this time Bishop Hobart died. 
On the 17th of January, 1831, Dr. Anthon resigned, having 
received an invitation to Trinity Church in this city. He held 
the Rectorship about two years. His scholarship and talent 
always connnanded the respect, and his faithfulness in pastoral 
duty the affection, of the congregation. 

On the 19th ofJanuary, 1831, two days after the resigna- 
tion of Dr. Anthon, the Rev. Francis L. Hawks was unani- 
mously elected Rector. Dr. Hawks' Rectorship was a splen- 
did triumpli. Crowds flocked from all quarters to hear the 
great preacher. On the 3d of March, 1831, Dr. Hawks was 
instituted, and on December 8th, 1831, he resigned, having 
held the Rectorship somewhat less than one year. He removed 
to St. Thomas's Church on Broadway. 

It is needless for me to describe Dr. Hawks. You all know 
him, and can appreciate his remarkable mental as well as phy- 
sical endowments. You know that in the power to hold a 
popular audience in breathless silence he has no superior. He 
is still in the city, and Rector of a church organization, not 
having yet a church edifice, but one is in course of erection. 
Tlie departure of Dr. Hawks nearly emptied the church, depop- 
ulated the Sunday-school, and spread desolation all around. 

On the 29tli of December, 1831, the Rev. John S. Stone, of 
Connecticut, was elected Rector. On January 9th, 1832, he 
declined. January 27th, 1832, the Rev. David Moore, son to 
the former Rector of tliat name, was elected. February 3d, 
1832, the Church was served with an injunction prohilnting 
the vestry from fixing the salary <»f tlie Rector, which by the 
statute must be determined by the congregation. Tlie vestry 
contested the point, and employed counsel. The whole mat- 
ter, however, was compromised, and the suit withdrawn. The 
Courts have since ruled that the provision alhided to does not 
apply to churches of our communion. Dr. Moore declined 



11 

liis invitation. March 30tli, 1882, Dr. Moore was elected again. 
May 5th, 1832, lie declined again. 

On. the 9th of May, 1832, the Rev. William Jackson, of 
Alexandria, Virginia, was elected, and in June, 1832, he de- 
clined. The call was repeated, and on June 10th, 1832, he 
accepted, the church having been vacant about six months. 

In 1831:, an association of gentlemen proposed to build a 
church at the corner of Christie and Delancey streets, but this 
vestry resisted the plan, and I suppose tlie result was the erec- 
tion of St. Bartholomew's Church. In March, 1836, Mr. Jack- 
son obtained leave of absence for a year, and visited his native 
land — England. The Rev. Zechariah Mead supplied the 
chui'ch in his absence. On March 25th, 1837, he resigned the 
Rectorship, and remo\'ed to Louisville, Kentucky. He was 
Rector somewhat less than liv^e years. 

Though Mr. Jackson was my immediate predecessor, I am 
more ignorant of any authentic facts from which to form a 
judgment on his administration of the parish than in regard 
to any other of the Rectors. The few who remained of the 
congregation, I found much divided respectmg him, and both 
parties were so unqualified and decided in their opinions, that 
a disinterested hearer would find it difficult to come to any 
conclusion. A large proportion of the pews had been aban- 
doned two years before the resignation of Mr. Jackson. 

Of Mr, Jackson's lair ability and intense faithfulness no 
doubt can be entertained. The failings that seemed to have 
given offence arose, I think, from a sense of official responsi- 
bility that was absolutely morbid. As perfection can be pre- 
dicated of no one, all the qualities, even of the best Christians, 
are held subject to this law of inqjerfection. As there are 
some men so anxiously straight that they are crooked, so some 
carry their faithfulness in duty in such a demonstrative man- 
ner, that it sternly rebukes everybody else, and seems to be 
per})etually challenging some one to enter the lists, and settle 
the (juestion of relative faithfulness. 

On May JSth, 1837, the present inc.mul)ent was unanimously 
elected Rector, and on May 20th, 1837, he accepted. The 
Rectorship had been vacant about two months. He entered 



12 

upon his duties on July 1st, 1837, twenty-nine years ago 
to-day. He came to tliis city, from his native city — Bos- 
ton — in November, 1833, called by the vestry as the assist- 
ant to the Rev. Dr. Hawks, Rector of St. Thomas's. In a 
few wrecks he was called to St. Paul's Church, Albany, and 
declined ; Dr. Hawks being iniwilling he should leave him. 
But the invitation being repeated, he accepted. He was in 
Albany three years and a half. 

After the resignation of Mr. Jackson, the supply of minis- 
trations for St. Stephen's was placed by the committee of this 
church ill the bands of Dr. Hawks, and it was in compliance 
with his request that, while on a journe}^ your preacher offi- 
ciated one Sunday, not at all seeking the Rectorship. It was 
tendered to him, however, and, after consulting his vestry in 
St. Paul's, on account of the severity of the climate of Albany, 
he accepted. 

He assumed this position as the seventh Rector; — all l;)ut one 
then living — all but two are now dead. Of the history of this 
church, and especiall}^ of his innnediate predecessor, he knew 
nothing. Judge of his surprise, then, when he found himself 
accused by rumor of having plotted against Mr. Jackson, and 
driven him from the church. He had seen Mr. Jackson only 
once, and had never exchanged a word with him or with any 
one about him. Had he enjoyed the experience he has had 
since, his surprise at this or anything else would have been 
less. 

On the whole, the parish was remarkably prosperous ; and 
there was no reason to doubt the presence of the divine bles- 
sing. Indeed, the most we had to fear was the danger attend- 
ant on prosperity ; and so Iniinite Wisdom seemed to regard 
our state ; for in 1843 occurred one of those events that cha- 
racterize an age, and from which both the church and myself 
suffered much ; I mean what is called the Carey ordination. 

Mr. Arthur Carey, a candidate for holy orders, had ])assed 
all his canonical examinations ; luit being only twenty years 
of age, while the canon recpiires a deacon to be twenty-one, he 
was compelled to w^ait one year. During this year all liis 
troubles arose. He was accused Ijy two presbyters of the 
church of a tendency to the Ronum Catholic system. 



13 

Bishop Oiiderdonk, in order to sjive, if possible, entire satis- 
faction, ordered a committee of eiji'lit, the two acciisino- minis- 
ters included, to examine Mr. Carey. I was placed upon the 
committee, on account of mj openly avowed and earnest hos- 
tility to everything Romish in our church. Six of the eight 
assented cheerfully to Mr. Carey's iitness for ordination. The 
two accusers persisted in their objections, protested pul^licly in 
church at the time of ordination, and instituted a state of 
things unprecedented in the church, distinguished f()r its love 
of order, where minorities had been in the hal)it of submitting 
gracefully to defeat. 

The excitement in the city was immense. The press teemed 
with pamphlets and newspaper articles, and, as usual, those 
Avho knew least alK»ut the questions invoh-ed made the most 
noise. The newsboys gained the most solid enjoyment, for 
they made it pay in dollars and cents. Komanism itself never 
degraded divine truth like this uproar. The Church itself has, 
in my humble judgment, lost, since that event, much of its 
accustomed reverence for sacred things, submission to author- 
ity, and cheerful surrender of individualism. Since that day 
the mere possession of a little lirief editorial authority sweeps 
away that charity which is "" not puffed up." 

Yet, after all, Mr. Carey was pronounced uniA'ersally a most 
evangelical preacher, and he died in the bosom of the Protest- 
ant Episcopal Chm'ch, proving, in the best possible manner, 
the whole charge against his orthodoxy to be groundless. I 
shall not take up your time at this late day in explaining the 
questions involved, on their merits. It is better to let all such 
miserable panics retire to the tomb of the Capulets. In my 
humble judgment, Mr. Carey was a giant in intellect and a 
saint in character. 

This being the hrst marked excitement to whicli as a pul)lic 
man I had been sul^jected, in my simplicity I sup})()sed, that 
all that was required, to restore order, was explanation. Ac- 
cordingly, I agreed to meet the more clamorous, and bo freely 
catechized. I did so, and my effort seemed to be successful. 
All ])rofessed to be satisfied. I>ut in forty-eight lionrs from 
this time tlie same charges, AV(»rd for word, and letter for letter, 



14 

^^'ere iiidiistrionsly cii-ciilated, troni Dan to Beersheba. I now 
declined any farther explanation; fell back on my rights as a 
man; and determined to abide in my silence till this tyranny 
be over-past. This was the signal for fresh assault. I was 
threatened, anonymously^ with all sorts of punishments, human 
and divine. But ]iot having a very high opinion of the courage 
that flourishes behind an anon^mious letter, I refrained trom all 
words, good and l)ad, on that subject, and at length the storm 
was spent, men tired of tongue- wagging, and I was left at rest. 
Stop a clamor with explanation, indeed ! When you extin- 
guish lire with oil you may expect it. 

A little more than a year from this time, in 1844, another 
opportunity of testing the faithfulness of the promise, "As thy 
day so shall thy strength be," was graciously aiforded me, for 
then occurred the trial, conviction and indelinite suspension of 
Dr. Benjamin T. Onderdonk, Bishop of the Diocese of New 
York. To go through all the details of this trial, as well as 
the premonitory symptoms of it for months and even years 
before, to lay out before you the reasons why I was willing to 
be ranked among the friends of Bishop Onderdonk, — how far 
the Bishop's trial, and the ordination of Mr. Carey, were two 
parts of one transaction, — that is to say, the one consequent on 
the other, — how far the connnon-sense rules of evidence, held 
as authority in the civil Courts, were over-ruled l)y a diseased 
ambition to vindicate the purity of the CIhu'cIi, — how far pri- 
vate prejudice was allowed to influence and distort juiblic 
judgment, — all this, gone over at the time again and again, I 
shall not reiterate, for it would not now be interesting to you, 
or profltable to any one. I will rather call your attention to 
an attempt made in the General Convention of 1862 to remove 
the sentence, and restore Dr. Onderdonk to his episcopal duties 
and prerogatives. 

His OAvn Convention, by a nearly unanimous ^'ote, had re- 
commended it ; gentlemen, both clerical and lay, who had been 
known as his opponents, united in asking it ; all things seemed 
to favor it ; the Bishop, under the advice of friends, had given 
a wi'itten pledge, that, if restored, he would dcAolve on his 
assistant the duties of the diocese, and only visit those churches 
particularly desiring it. 



15 

The Bishop was buoyed up by hope, and seemed to resume 
his former cheerfuhiess. Plis appeal to tlie House of Bishops 
had wrung tears from all : when, lo ! by a decisive vote, ex- 
cluding all hope of reconsideration, the 2>etition was refused, 
and the Bishop's hopes were crushed. 

From this time he began to sink. The last link that bound 
him to life was shattered. Just before his death, a presbyt r 
of the church virited him, and, at his own request, used M'ith 
him the visitation office for the sick, as contained in the Prayer- 
Ijook. When he came to the rubric directing the officiator to 
examine the sick man as to his repentance, charity, justice, etc., 
the Bishop replied to this effect : " I am a poor sinner, and 
have lived in the habit of repentance for sin, known and un. 
known; but I declare solemnly to that God l:)efore whom I 
must soon appear in judgment, that / mn imconscious of the 
offences for which I have heen condeinnedr 

And I believe him. He died of a broken heart, literally not 
hguratively broken. To prove that the Bishops, had they 
shown mercy, would have risked nothing, his funeral was the 
largest and most sorrowful ever witnessed in New York. There 
was an immense array of clergy, and it seemed as if all the 
hearts of the city had lieen condensed into one great heart, and 
that heart throbbed in symj^athy with our deeply, deeply 
afflicted Bishop. 

That much-al)used playwright, William Shakspeare, through 
the lips of Portia, in tlie trial scene of the " Merchant of Venice," 
teaches us a lesson on mercy, more orthodox than much of our 
Christian practice. Portia says : 

" It is an attribute of God himself, 
And earthly power doth then show likest God's, 
When mercy seasons justice. Consider this, 
Tliat, iit the courae of justice, noHe. of iis 
Should see salvation. We do pray for mercy, 
And that same prayer loth teach ns all to render 
The deeds of mercy." 

This congregation, rather reduced in numbers by these seve- 
ral excitements, soon recovered, till, in 1850, the largest amount 
of pew rent ever received in this church in any one year was 



16 

realized. Tlie intense ]iani<'s to which I had lieen made a 
party l)ei>;an, however, to tell upon my nervous system, and the 
vestry very kindly gave me leave of absence for one year, early 
in 1853. 

For the first time in my life J visited Euro})e. On the eve 
of my departure I received an anonymous letter. The pen- 
manship and composition represented a person occupying a 
res])ectal)Ie position in society. The letter charged me with an 
intention of going abroad to give in my submission to the Pope : 
that I knew in my heart that I was a Roman Catholic, and I 
had better act honestly and avow" it. Tlie sentiments expressed 
in this letter showed that the waiter put a very high estimate 
on his own godliness, and cherished a contempt for the piety of 
all others. 

Ten years had elapsed since the Carey ordination. Ten 
years of faithful service as a Protestant were not enough to sat- 
isfy this very ]nous man. I leave you to judge whether it is 
ever a godly act to write an anonymous letter, or whether the 
same act can be that of an assassin and a Christian. I leave 
you to judge whether it is a godly act to make a. charge not 
only without evidence, but against evidence. I leave you to 
judge whether your rights in life or property ■\\'ould l)e safe in 
the hands of twelve such men sitting on a jury. 

I sailed, however, for Euro])e, without much concern about 
this self-appointed censor. I })assed over the usual route, and 
at length found myself in Home, — stood in awe at that stupen- 
dous structure, St. Peter's Chnrcli, — listened in raptm'e to the 
most entrancing of music, — wondered at the extent of a system • 
having a confessional in Pome for every language on the earth, 
— heard of its hundred masses before twelve o'clock every day, 
— received the utmost kindness and courtesy, extending even to 
a friendly warning not to speak so freely, — the last warning by 
a priest of courtly and winning address, giving me, too, his 
official influence to pass that public nuisance, a Neapolitan 
custom-house ; — and in six months from the time I left I 
returned, as firm a Protestant as ever. What a i>ity, to spoil 
the prophecy of my anonymous friend ! The contentions of 
the Christian world are strangelv misunderstood. The strife is 



IT 

not between high clnirch und h»w church and l)road clmrch, 
but between fiction and reahtj. All true men nnderst.ind each 
other, by whatever name they may be called. 

The Roman Church i^ doubtless historically ancient, but doc- 
trinally the most modern, — more modern, in fact, than many 
of the sects. She has proved treacherons to the faith commit- 
ted to her trust, as a l)ranch of the Clrarch Catholic. She is 
treacherons, not l)y ;U)stracting from the faith, like the sects, 
but by addino- to it, and what is added has more of the charac- 
ter of Paganism than of Christiaiuty. 

During the period of twenty -nine years of my Rectorship, I 
have resigned three times, once unconditionally, twice condi- 
tionally. The vestry, each time, declined accepting the resig- 
nation. This was nol)le and generous of them, since the ma- 
jority of them diti'ered from me on those exciting subjects to 
which I have referred. Difference of opinion on points not 
toucliing fundamentals ought not to separate men from each 
other. There should be mutual forl)earance and toleration. If 
you have a pastor afraid to act on his own calm convi(;tions of 
duty, you lla^'e a tool, a thing, and not a man fitted to instruct 
and guide in spiritual matters. If you have one who is con- 
stantly invading the opinions of his vestry and peo})le, and 
enforcing his own crude notions as if they were the canon laA\' 
of the Church, you have a tyrant, and not a shepherd. 

But far beyond my deserts I have enjoyed the cojifidence of 
many friends, not (jnly in this congregation l)ut in the Church 
at large, and even in the various denominations ; so that I 'am 
persuaded that no compromise of essential truth is required as 
the price at which friendship is to be obtained. My name was 
solicited as a candidate foi- the Episcopate of a distant Western 
Diocese. But I declined. I was nominated in this diocese. 
It was at a time when Dr. Wainright, the friend of my youth, 
was a candidate, and I could not forego the o])])ortuiiity to 
work for his election ; and I received more solid enjoyment in 
seeing that work successful, and that success everywhere and 
])y all meeting a most hearty a])])roval, than I could e\cr lunc 
received from my own election (were thai possible) to an (»fHce 
the last to be the object of human ambition. For thougli the 



18 

Berlpture saith, " He that desiretli the office of a Bishop desireth 
a o-ood thing," jet it is tlie office that is good, not tlie desire. 

(rod has blessed me with a remarkable degree of health, 
since I have been absent from duty, on account of illness, in 
twenty-nine years, only four times, and I have required no 
medical attendance for tliirty j^ears. And yet I was pronounced 
incurably consumptive at an early period of life. Self-control, 
cheerful trust, a conscience void of offence, and a determined 
will, all guided l)y motives drawni from the cross of Christ Jesus, 
our dear Loi-d, will do much to counteract bodily tendencies. 

"You have had, indeed," says one, " a bed of roses." Grant- 
ed. But allow me to add, " There is no 7'ose without a thorn."' 
\ et, in gratitude, 1 must say, it is not less a rt)se because it has 
a thorn. The thorns have been comparatively few and point- 
less. " I have always considered it my duty," said a prominent 
member of this congregation to me, '' to make the Rector as 
unhap|)y as ])ossible, for fear he will love this world too well." 
" Sir," I replied, '•'should you ever need any testimony as to 
the faithfulness with which you have discharged that duty, call 
on me. My ex})erience is ample on that sul)ject." This is a 
fair sample of the luxury- of clerical life. " The tender mercies 
of the wicked are cruel." But, then, a priest of the Church 
has the luxury of doing g<^od, to live tor endurance on his o^^'n 
part and benevolence toward others. And this is a luxury, a 
hixnry I should delight to see enjoyed l)y many of onr rich 
men. The secret of luunan happiness is to li\'e for the real 
ha])]uness of others, and no one but the consistent Christian 
can do this. 

h\ closing, I might array l)efore you the statistics of twenty- 
nine years ; but there is more of personal display in this than 
suits my taste, and especially as the records under the adminis- 
tration of Mr. Stroel)eck, Dr. Moore, and partly of Dr. Feltus, 
are lost, and I must place the other Rectors in unpleasant com- 
parison with them. Besides, though it is said iigures cannot 
he, 1 must beg leave to deny that, and to say that Iigures, in 
the hands of dishonest skill, may be made to lie like anything 
else. A false nature defaces and deforms all it touches. Tliere 
is a forced, unnatnral importance attached to statistics in all 
departments of enter] )rise. 



19 

It remains, then, only to state, that the abandonment of this 
edifice, and the removal of St. Stephen's Chnrch, in its ror})o- 
rate character, to a more eligible position, has been determined, 
on the o-ronnd of absolute necessity. Nothing bnt necessity 
can excuse it, and nothing but its necessity would have obtained 
my sanction. I deeply sympathize with those who mourn the 
removal of this old landmark, and more especially the removal 
<;*f the honored dead from what was supposed, fifty years ago, 
to be their last resting-place. (2) 

Never has a work of this kind l:)eeu conducted with more 
quietness and conciliation, or met with more submission and 
thorough persuasion of its necessity. No serious objection 
has come from any party having any personal interest in the 
matte]'. The vestry were unanimous in their decision, and yet 
felt the most sincere desire, if ])ossible, to avoid the change. I 
have done all in uiy power to retain the property for the use of i-' 
the Protestant Episcopal Church, l)ut in vahi. 

Some think that I should have resisted the removal of this 
chnrch at any cost; but 1 do not so read my duty. I have 
never pressed it. I have shnply follow^ed the leading of divine 
Providence. You remendjer the old saying : " A wise man 
seldom changes his mind, a weak man often^ a fool never ^'' To 
refuse to listen when God speaks to us from the clond of his 
Providence, is as insensible as to be carried about by every 
wind that blows. It is only repeating the empty resistance of 
the courtiers of Canute to the laws of nature, to contend with 
that necessity which knows no hiw. 

And then, too, if we follow the directing finger of Providence, 
present evil will result in substantial good. Though I may 
not live to enjoy it, the parish will reap great gain from this 
exodus. It is for want of l>road catholic views of the kingdom 
of Christ, that so many take seriously a trifle like the removal, 
or even extinction, of a single chm'ch. Is there no security in 
the Church's charter : '^ Lo, I am with you alway, even to the 
end of the world" ''. Thus is her sacred ministry ])erpetnated. 
''The gates of hell" (or outward violence) ''shall n(«t i)rcvail 
against" the Church. Thus is secured the stability of the 
Church in her corporate or catholic character. 

The extinction, then, of an ^uidividual congregation, the 



20 

de])artm-e iVoiii the faith oi' an entire hranrh »»f tliis true vine, 
need not impair tlic faith of believers in the promise of Cxod. 
He will fnliil Ins promise, tliongli it be hy a miracle. It is our 
])rivileg;e to be members of ('hrist's l)odj, and parties in the 
extension of its healing properties to individnals and to nations. 
Rally about me, beloved, for this noble purpose of life ; for pur 
own salvation and the salvation of others. Let my declining- 
years be relieved by those cheerful countenances and encourag- 
ing words which, under God, have been my solace in seasons of 
trial and affliction. I am still hopeful, not so much in myself, 
as in my dear Lord, win* condescends to use such a poor worm 
of the dust for such high and holy purposes. 

As I look, for the last time, })erhaps, on this church, venera- 
ble, as we count years in this age of new things and rapid 
changes, — a procession, reinarkable for numl)ers as for variety, 
passes before my mind's eye. Nearly one-half of this goodly 
show commenced its march within my own Rectorship. Time 
would fail me to count or to paint it. To gather up the fi'ag- 
ments of thn'ty years of ministerial experience, with no promp- 
ter T)ut memory, is no easy task. This church is not without 
witness that the great purpose for which oiu- dear Lord estal:)- 
lislied his Church, — the moral renovation of men, — has not been 
forgotten or neglected. By the light of the pale, cold winter's 
moon — the ground like Hint — at two o'clock in the morning, in 
the last half liom- of life, I hav^e baptized the lite-long infidel, 
defiant, l)oastful, while he dared, "but retracting at once a life's 
work, and proclaiming his faith and trust in Him whose name 
he had pronounced before only in blasphemy. 

To another large class of the *•' proscribed"" this church has 
been a Magdalene Society. Let one be selected. She is not 
one of the coarse, brutal kind. She is, indeed, weak in intellect, 
and therefore disposed to lean on something without and supe- 
rior to herself. C'onfiding, trustful, affectionate, but simple, she 
had sinned indeed, but was more sinned against than sinning. 
She had trusted one, her superior in nothing 1)ut that which 
distinguishes Milton's Satan, — intellect. lie betrayed her, 
abandoned her, and so infiicted a wrong from which she never 
recovered. At this juncture I was instrumental in directing 
her guileless heai't to Ilim, the Saviour of the world, — to Him 



21 

patieLt toward sin and wayward iirss when willin*;- to betaiig'ht, 
— severe oidy with the arropuit and self-a^^sertiii^;-, — considerate 
for others, tbro-etftd only oi' himself, — the divine 8on, liavini!; 
autliority to judge men, — yet the good S]ie})lierd laying down 
his life for the sheep, — tlie Lord of nature, of human life and 
death, and of the life to come, yet full of sympathy for human 
sorro^v and sutfering ; Ilim.self a sutferer, yet a sufferer iV»r others. 

8he had found one who, with infinite power, had infinite 
pity ; M'ho would never l)etray, never forsake her. Her con- 
sumption advanced slowly hut siu'ely. As the disease would 
occasionally relax its hold, it was sad to see, from the mere 
force of habit, her skeleton neck and wrists dressed out with 
the jewelry of days of vanity ; not now from the love of dress, 
which doubtless had been a besetting sin, as it is now of thou- 
sands ; but to reinind her from what a world of frivolous folly 
she had escaped. 

Under a Christian influence her intellect strengthened ; but 
that deep, deej> sorrow nothing could cure. Death came at last, 
and gently rocked her to the slee]) in Jesus. A post-mortem 
examination showed that the phrase, broken heart, is not always 
iigurative. There was rupture in that oi'gan. Tlest, rest, })oor 
Maria : go and sin no nu>re. A ministering angel slialt thou 
be where im])enitence cannot enter. 

I will not detain you with the recital of many more cases, 
worse and better than these, which would, after all, each be but 
the representative of a class. I claim for this church that it 
has been unostentatiously doing the legitinuite work of a Chris- 
tian church in this community, and on this ground deserves con- 
tinued support and sympathy. To whatevei' class this church 
may hereafter minister, may it live near to Jesus, l)y copying 
those features of character that distinguish him, — compassion, 
mercy, tenderness, benevolence, truth. 

I desire, this day, while in the enjoyment of heahli, to say : 
that I forgive all who have attempted my injury, and ask for- 
giveness of Clod and of my fellow Christians for any aninien- 
tioiial ininvy J have done them. Tliis Church sliall iiu-rease, 
but! must decrease. Let me die with my harness on, faithful 
to the last. It is all 1 have to ask. God bless you and your 
families. 



APPENDIX 



1. The following staleinent is lUiide for the satisfaction of the Church 
public, and especially the venerable corporation of Trinity Church, to 
whom, under God, this church is indebted for its existence. St. Stephen's 
Church has never been supported on pew rents alone. When the church 
is filled to its utmost capacity, as it has been during a large part of the 
last twenty -nine years, the amount of pew rent cannot much exceed two 
thousand dollars. Embai'rassmeut in meeting the current expenses, placed 
at a very low standard, has been frequent ; and during the present Rector- 
ship several applications have been uuide to the cori)oratiou of Trinity 
Church for relief, but without success. In no one case within the' last 
tliirty years has any aid been afforded. The church being crowded, and 
an air of prosperity prevailing, it was probably thought that the church 
was affected with the begging mania. Tlie conseciuence of all this has been 
the accumulation of a debt, and a sacrifice on tlie part of the Rector which 
he could ill afford. After the erection and sale of vaults for interment, 
the income from those belonging to the church amounted to one thousand 
dollars per annum. But an ordinance of the corporation of the citj^ closed 
up this source of revenue, and brought on new difficulties. Then the lots 
generously'given by Trinity Church, rose in value, and tlie leases, fortu- 
nately just exj)iring, fully made up the former deficiency. But in the 
meantime the expense of everything had proportionably increased, while, 
at the same tinie, the removals from the neighborhood and the uncomfort- 
ableness of tlie city cars on Sunday greatly diminished the numbers who 
could meet this expense. The yearly income is about four thousand dol- 
lars, the yearly expenses about four thousand five hundred dollars, leaving 
the cliurch in debt every year, with every department iiiade(|uately sup- 
ported, and no prospect of improvement. To meet this state of things the 
neighborhood was canvassed, but no results obtained, except indifference, 
more or less intense. Romanism, infidelity or stolid indifference prevail. 
Had the church the means of supjjorting a certain class without labor, as 
a si)ecial tavor they would attend church. The idea of a mission now sug- 
gested itself. To meet this the church required repairs, involving an out- 
lay of five thousand dollars ; the sexton's house must be rebuilt, costing 
eight thousand dollars ; buildings erected for the mission on the site of the 



23 

chitrctiyard, costing ten thousand dollars; and the dead removed as now, 
costing ten thousand dollars. To meet this the cliurch had not a cent. 
The vestry endeavored to interest the City Mission, the Howard Mission, 
the Guild of the Holy Cross, hut for various reasons all failed. Two or 
three of Trinity vestry were consulted, hut no encouragement was given 
to hope for anytliing for some years to come. The endowment given by 
Trinity might have been seriously impaired, and it is thought, in legal 
quarters, entirely used up, if it were used in the service of the church. To 
this the Eector would not for one moment listen. That which was given 
for the security of St. Stephen's Church should never be sacrificed for tlie 
Rector's private intei*ests, or in such a way as to make the extinction of 
the church certain. Nothing was left for us to do but to sell and obtain a 
location more favorable to success. If there has been any error, it must be 
that to which wiser and better men than we are liable. Let those who 
condemn ask themselves if they ever extended even a finger to relieve. 

2. The agent in the removal of the bodies from tlie yard was TIenry B. 
Price, son of the Rector. 



Karnes of Wardens and Vestrymen of St. Stephen's 
Church, since 1805. 



Jacob C. Mott. 
Cornelius Scluiylfr. 
Thomas Gibbons. 
Henry Pope. 
James Smith. 
Joiin Drake. 
George Warner. 



WARDENS. 

George Haws. 
Joseph Chadwick. 
Daniel Mersereau 
Ernest Fink. 
Foster Nostrand. 
James W. Dominick. 
John H. Hurtin. 



Jacob Aims. 
Isaac Fryer. 
Bezaleel Howe. 
Robert A. Sands 
Bronson Peck. 



Thomas Gibbons. 
Gordon Molt. 
Benjamin Beckinan. 
John Fash. 
Isaac Emmon.s. 
Benjamin Clark. 
Abraham Fowler. 
George Beck. 
Jacob C. Mott. 
Adolph Carter. 
James Gillender. 
William Lang. 
Henry Pope 
John Williams. 
Richard Mott. 
Jacob Lobb. 
John Drake 
James Smith. 
Isaac Emmons. 
John Pell. 
Jonas Humbert. 
Tunis Bergh. 
John Poillon. 
James Scott. 
David Marsh. 
Abraham Vanbiiskerk 
Mark Mooi-e. 
Andrew Yelverlon. 
Moses Jarvis. 
Daniel Merseieaii. 
Eliad Davis. 
George Haws. 
Thomas Tripler. 
James W. Dominick. 
James Dobbin. 
Joseph Chadwick. 



VESTRYMEN. 

Alexander Stewart. 
Ernest Fink. 
Jacob Aims. 
Foster Nostrand. 
Nickolas J. Quackenbos. 
Joseph N. Lord. 
Thomas Shapter. 
John II. Ilurtin. 
John H. Williams. j 

George Ehringer. | 

Charles U. Roach. | 

John Messenger. | 

Marimus VVillett. 
Joseph Desnoues. 
William N. Chadwick. 
Asa Day. 
John Scoles. 
W. N. Seymour. 
Elisha K. Belcher. 
John M. Seaman. 
William Wilson. 
Benjamin Loder. 
Samuel Lynes. 
Francis Smith. 
Jared L. Moore. 
Richard E. Purdy. 
Caleb S. Benedict. 
William Weed, Jr. 
Charles J. Chipp. 
Isaac Fryei-. 
Joseph W. Winans. 
Robert A. Sands 
Bezaleel Howe. 
S. Jones Mumford. 
Elisha Brooks. 
James L. Morgan. 



John Brooks. 
Henry W. Boswell. 
John A. Poillon. 
Thomas Netterville. 
Abel Corwin. 
William C. Greig. 
Joseph S. Taylor. 
Robert T. Haws. 
Henry L. Ritch. 
Charles Swift. 
A. W. King. 
James H. Lyles. 
Bronson Peck. 
Jay Jarvis. 
Edwin Houghton. 
Silas Davis. 
N. G. Bradford, Jr. 
Charles H. Richardson. 
Russel Crane. 
L. D. Burdett. 
Ciiarles G. Snuili. 
Henry W. Whiting. 
E. D. Brown. 
Joseph Priest. 
Walter L. Childs. 
Garwood Ferris. 
Henry B. Price. 
Henry Richardson. 
Seaman R. Fowler. 
Richard F. Purdy. 
Matthew E. Baker. 
Hiram Raynor. 
Samuel K. Barton. 
Alexandei' H. Stewart. 
George B. Raynor. 



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